Psalm 46 is a song for Zion, God’s holy city where his people dwell with him—the city is holy because God dwells in it. This psalm is all about security with God that God is our true home. It’s mostly written in third-person, but at verse 10 there’s a change and God speaks directly. Throughout the 11 verses, we also read several descriptions about God—his characteristics and attributes: he is our refuge, he is strong, present, and a great help to those who are weak. God is higher than all else and able to rule above all. At his voice the earth melts.
We read this is the God of Jacob, he is with believers, and he is exalted among the nations and in the earth. He is a fortress and protects the weak that belong to him. The psalmist is probably living through some sort of turmoil or war as he mentions the phrases: trouble, the nations rage, the kingdoms totter, war, the spear, bow, and chariots—though the psalm is also pointing forward to a future time when wars will cease. It is clear by the end of the psalm that waring against God is always in vain, and the people of God who are protected by their Mighty Fortress have nothing to fear.
Zondervan’s Handbook to the Bible 5th ed., edited by David and Pat Alexander, notes:
“This psalm [Psalm 46] – the one on which Luther based a famous hymn [A Mighty Fortress is Our God] – may have been written following King Sennacherib of Assyria’s attack on Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 32), some natural disaster, or in anticipation of the events heralding the Messiah’s coming. Verses 4-5 have a parallel in Revelation 22:1-5, where the ideal is perfectly realized. The psalmist glories in God’s presence with his people (1, 4-5, 7, 11), and his real and unassailable protection.”
A big takeaway from Psalm 46 is that the people of God are always secure no matter what environment they may be living in on earth—turmoil, war, destruction, etc.—God has secured the souls of believers through his Son Jesus Christ.